Comments on: Dear Chief Minister

By: Art & Politics 101: Canberra’s Monument to the Readymade

Art & Politics 101: Canberra’s Monument to the Readymade — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:46:13 +0000

[...] no doubt it will be registered on the National Estate as THE Northbourne Monument. See our previous Open Letter to the Chief Minister on the [...]

By: imants tillers

imants tillers — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:51:25 +0000

[...] to the drawing board? In early February you announced that a final decision would be made in Aprhttp://artwranglers.com.au/dear-chief-minister/Imants Tillers – Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaImants tillers is an Australian visual artist, [...]

By: Liberals open campaign with a cheap shot at public art

Liberals open campaign with a cheap shot at public art — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:46:59 +0000

[...] markers” will always be an easy target for reactionary politics. See our take on the Chief Minister’s dilemma. The question is: is any art better than [...]

By: Jane Barney

Jane Barney — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:35:25 +0000

It seems that if a public art commission has any sort of decent budget, then the architects usually come out in force to submit ‘team’ proposals, with an artist (usually belatedly) tacked on for good measure.

My recollection is that the shortlist for the ‘Northbourne monumental disaster’ included architect after architect, plus a few landscape architects thrown in for variety.

I hear on the grapevine that the $450K glassworks public artwork is also attracting interest from architects’ firms across Australia. (Including Cox Humphries and Moss, who must surely be precluded from tendering for this particular commission as one of its principal partners, Graham Humphries, has been a long standing member of the ACT Government’s non-art focused public art committee. The very committee that presumably will form the core of the selection panel for this work.)

Not withstanding any potential significant conflicts of interest in the ranks – keep an eye out for the 4 shortlisted proposals to see if the selection panel can hold its nerve when it comes to inviting an ‘artist’, not an ‘architect’, to deliver this complex and exciting project.

By: Barbara McConchie

Barbara McConchie — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:04:46 +0000

Just to add to the fray isn’t it ironic that the announcement to enhance the cafe at the Glassworks with glassed in extension will cost $350K and that to call for a new glass tower public art work – a one off, unique and as we all know each new public artwork is an artistic as well as engineering prototype – has been allocated $450K. You’d think that the glass cafe extension would be the domain of shop fitters etc, but that for an inspirational art work that fits your 8 star plan would be proportionally more!

By: megxx

megxx — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:55:50 +0000

…actually, make that ‘to our utter, utter, utter despair’…

By: megxx

megxx — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:14:02 +0000

As we’ve witnessed on other occasions, Nige – to our utter, utter, utter disappointment – these sorts of ‘hold-ups’ are merely bureaucratic bog-downs. Arts ACT historically sticks like stodge to its curious shortlists and will, we suspect, stubbornly resist such a sensible concept as ‘re-advertise, ya mugs.’